Practice: GD and communication drill
50 min · Intermediate
Need help? Ask a tutor on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)Placement GDs and speaking rounds are won in practice, not on the day. This lesson is the drill: five topics, an annotated GD, a recording and three emails, each measured so that you know exactly what to fix.
Drill 1: points for five GD topics
A prep sheet is one page with five content cards: for each topic, a one-line meaning, two points on each side and a way forward. It trains you to find both sides of a new topic quickly.
Time yourself: about 4 minutes per topic, 20 minutes in all. Then pick one topic and say a 30-second opening aloud.
Example 1 · A five-topic prep sheet
1. Work from home or office for freshers? For: no commute, flexible hours | Against: slower learning, fewer mentors Way forward: office-first hybrid in the first year2. Should attendance be compulsory? For: regular habits, help for weak students | Against: working students, long travel Way forward: 75% minimum with recorded lectures as backup3. Will AI reduce fresher IT jobs? For: routine tasks automated | Against: new roles to build and check AI Way forward: strong fundamentals plus skill with AI tools4. Is UPI enough for a cashless India? For: free, fast, works on basic smartphones | Against: fraud, older users, network gaps Way forward: awareness drives and offline backup options5. Online degrees versus campus degrees For online: lower cost, flexible | For campus: labs, teamwork, placements Way forward: blended degrees with in-person labs- Revise all five the night before a GD round - Practise a 30-second opening for each - Notice the repeating themes: cost, access, learning, safety
What this code does
- Every topic has both sides, so you can join the GD wherever it goes.
- The way-forward lines are ready-made summary endings.
- Themes repeat across topics, so five cards prepare you for many more GDs.
Drill 2: annotate a sample GD
Annotation is marking every turn of a GD as strong or weak and saying why, in the same note style each time: the speaker, what the turn does and which evaluation parameter it affects.
Strong turns add a new point or example, build on someone or bring someone in. Weak turns repeat, interrupt or go off topic. After two or three annotated GDs, you start noticing these patterns live, while you are in the discussion.
Example 2 · An annotated GD: strong and weak turns
Topic: "Should colleges ban mobile phones in classrooms?"1 Arjun: "Phones must be banned, students only watch reels."2 Nisha: "Arjun is right about reels. But a full ban removes digital notes; in our Python lab we read the docs on our phones."3 Vikram: "Yes, yes, phones are bad, phones are bad."4 Leela: "One side we have not covered is safety: hostel students may need to be reachable by family."5 Arjun: (cuts Leela off) "Safety is an excuse."6 Nisha: "Leela, could you finish your point on safety?"7 Tanvi: "Talking of phones, the new phone launches this year are amazing."1 Arjun: strong opinion, no evidence -> weak content 2 Nisha: ACE (acknowledge, counter, evidence) -> strong content, teamwork 3 Vikram: repeats, adds nothing -> weak 4 Leela: new angle (safety) -> strong content 5 Arjun: interrupts, dismisses -> weak teamwork 6 Nisha: repairs the interruption, brings Leela in -> strong leadership 7 Tanvi: off topic (phone launches) -> weak content
What this code does
- Nisha scores in two turns by doing different things: a counter-point, then fair play.
- Arjun's view may be shared by the evaluator, but no evidence and an interruption cost him.
- Tanvi mentions phones, but the topic is phones in classrooms, so her turn is off topic.
Find the bug
Annotate: find the weak turn
Tap the turn you would mark as weak in the annotation.
Topic: "Phones in classrooms." Which turn is weak?
Round 1 of 3Drill 3: a two-minute talk with pace and filler count
A speaking report is three numbers worked out from one recording: pace in words per minute, the filler count and the fillers per minute.
Record a two-minute answer to "Tell me about yourself" or "Explain your final-year project", count the words and fillers, and work out the three numbers. Then record the same answer again, with pauses instead of fillers, and compare.
Example 3 · A speaking report for one recording
words = 262seconds = 120fillers = {"um": 6, "like": 4, "basically": 3}
total_fillers = sum(fillers.values())wpm = words * 60 // secondsfillers_per_minute = total_fillers * 60 / seconds
pace_note = "(comfortable)" if 120 <= wpm <= 160 else "(adjust)"rate_note = "(good)" if fillers_per_minute < 3 else "(work on this)"print(f"Pace: {wpm} wpm {pace_note}")print("Fillers:", total_fillers, fillers)print(f"Fillers per minute: {fillers_per_minute:.1f} {rate_note}")Pace: 131 wpm (comfortable)
Fillers: 13 {'um': 6, 'like': 4, 'basically': 3}
Fillers per minute: 6.5 (work on this)What this code does
- Pace is fine, so this speaker should not change speed; only fillers need work.
- Printing the dict shows which filler is the main habit ("um" here), so you know what to watch for.
- The limit of 3 fillers a minute is a practical target, not an official rule.
A drop in fillers on the second try is normal and is the habit you are building. Revise: Point-reason-example, pace and fillers (opens in a new tab)
Drill 4: three placement emails
An email drill is writing the three most common placement emails in a row (a query to the TPO, a follow-up after an interview, an offer reply) and checking each against simple rules.
Writing the three emails together shows whether your subject lines, greetings and signatures are consistent. Check each email with simple rules: a subject under about 60 characters, a "Dear..." greeting, no slang or pressure words, and a phone number in the signature.
Example 4 · An email checker
import re
def problems(subject, body): found = [] if not subject.strip(): found.append("empty subject") elif len(subject) > 60: found.append("subject longer than 60 characters") if not body.startswith("Dear "): found.append("no greeting") words = " " + re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9 ]", " ", body.lower()) + " " for w in ["pls", "thx", "asap", "urgent", "bro"]: if f" {w} " in words: found.append(f"slang or pressure word: {w}") if not re.search(r"\d{5}", body): found.append("no phone number") return found
bad = problems("", "hi sir pls send link asap. thx")good = problems( "Interview link not received - Python Developer - Asha Rao", "Dear Mr. Shah,\nI have not received the link for 12 June, 10:00.\n" "Could you please share it?\nRegards,\nAsha Rao\n+91 98765 43210",)print("Bad email:", bad)print("Good email:", good)Bad email: ['empty subject', 'no greeting', 'slang or pressure word: pls', 'slang or pressure word: thx', 'slang or pressure word: asap', 'no phone number'] Good email: []
What this code does
- Each rule is one
if, so the checker is easy to extend with your own common mistakes. - Punctuation is replaced with spaces before matching, so "thx" at the end of a sentence is still found.
- The phone check looks for five digits in a row; it is a rough test, so still read the email yourself.
A small program can check these rules. Revise: Professional email writing (opens in a new tab)
Self-review checklist
A self-review is the list of yes-or-no questions you ask after every mock GD, recording or email. It turns "it went okay" into one or two specific habits to fix next.
Score each line yes or no. Pick only the one or two "no" lines to work on in the next drill; trying to fix everything at once usually fixes nothing.
GD: Did I add a new point, an example or data in every turn? Did I build on someone by name at least once? Did I avoid interrupting and harsh words? Could I summarise the GD in 60 to 75 words?Speech: Was my pace between about 120 and 160 wpm? Were my fillers fewer than about 3 a minute? Did my answers start with the point?Email: Subject = purpose - role - name? Greeting? Signature with phone?Order of execution
What to do after a mock
Tap the steps in the order you would do them after a mock GD.
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